[Chapter 901: Regret and Anger]
The sudden blockbuster hit left Hollywood stunned, while Wall Street fell into an eerie silence.
Well, first came a little company called Netscape. In just under two years, it had skyrocketed from a ten million dollar company to a valuation of over ten billion dollars.
Pixar, a film company many major investment firms had underestimated, suddenly erupted into the spotlight.
Let's put it this way: the big investment banks could hardly sit still. Now, whether an eight billion dollar valuation was too high was beside the point; even if it hit ten billion, who cared?
The most troubled of them all surely were Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. In the hundreds of meters along Wall Street, there truly were no secrets. Pixar had first approached those two firms, and the outcome? No need to elaborate.
Morgan Stanley was faring a little better; the old-timers could still keep things under control. But Goldman was in a bind; as a partnership-like investment bank, the usual rivalry was starting to rear its ugly head.
With the box office numbers exploding, the demand for shares kept rising. Clearly, the originally planned twenty-three dollars per share was not just overly optimistic; it was likely too low.
William White didn't care how old Steve Jobs intended to play this. He was just curious to see the expressions on the faces of those investment bankers.
Oh, and there were also those two self-important fund managers. Those two jerks were indeed very arrogant; one could only wonder where their faint air of superiority came from, except when facing him directly.
Of course, the so-called star fund managers had their own notorious trait: a foul mouth.
"What do you mean by 'overvalued'? What does it mean to say this is a sign of investors losing their minds?"
After listening to Steve Jobs rant for fifteen minutes straight, Larry Ellison just couldn't take it anymore. "Come on, the guy has the right to say what he wants!"
"Steve, calm down. Just take a look at William White's rise; who hasn't badmouthed him along the way?"
Cough cough, cough cough, Steve Jobs rolled his eyes. He could indeed speak well; while he didn't think he was any worse than that jerk, he realized he hadn't quite reached that level yet.
Once Steve calmed down, he quickly realized the envy and jealousy fueling the discussions. Ha! Now, it wasn't just about a ten billion dollar valuation; fifteen billion was a real possibility.
To William White, he thought of those outside criticisms as mere noise. So-called star managers also had their designated roles, one of which was as analysts.
Some were industry analysts, while others specialized in policy analysis. If you didn't carry such titles, who were you to be a star manager?
In fact, it was much like the stock analysts from rival companies; if you weren't afraid of falling on your face, you could easily follow the trend.
Of course, he couldn't simply dismiss them as useless. The analysts certainly had real skills, unlike those flunky stock analysts.
However, his own abilities were personal to him; why should he share that benefit with these guys?
In the end, what mattered wasn't the talk; it was the action. To put it plainly, only their accounts truly reflected their intentions.
"Anger and shame--that was how William White summed it up."
Speaking of being a jinx, William White truly was a key player. Presently, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs were holding a meeting; the content was essentially a blame game.
Furious, he returned to his office, his anger bubbling over. After smashing a beautiful crystal ashtray, the old-timer slowly calmed down. The priority now wasn't to throw shade at Jobs.
"Andy, tell that fool to stop making a scene. Whether Pixar is good or not, it's not his place to judge."
"Sure thing, boss, I'll be right on it."
"Oh, and help me set up a meeting with Jobs. Damn it, I'm supposed to help him finish what he started."
The head of Morgan Stanley was angry; at another time, they could bash Pixar all they wanted.
But right now?
Let's not even mention that Pixar was about to IPO; if it crashed, it would reflect poorly on them. Now, there was absolutely no chance of failure. Jobs hadn't faked box office data or financial reports. Whether investors kept their cool had nothing to do with Morgan Stanley.
The most embarrassing part was their and Goldman's refusal to underwrite Pixar's stock.
Was it anger and shame?
It was nothing less than a joke among the upper crust.
With things going this far, it was mostly settled. A little gossip was harmless, but if they continued to press, were they really trying to bully someone without a strong background?
The relationship between William White and Jobs aside, some said they were on good terms while others claimed they were at odds.
All that didn't really matter. This time around, top executives from White Group were present for the premier.
If you couldn't grasp this attitude, then nothing else needed to be said. It was clear that William White attached immense importance to Pixar's IPO.
What was the reason?
It was quite simple: look at what Disney was best known for.
Wasn't it a variety of animated films?
The three-dimensional animation technique had proven effective. If that's the case, there would be no shortage of future films from Disney and Pixar.
You missed the opportunity, and now you want to smear and belittle it.
Let's put it this way: can we keep a little dignity?
"Sir, it shouldn't happen again. I told them what you meant."
"Hahaha, Filson, when the old guy speaks, you can almost see his face turn sour."
Filson could only indulge the boss's sense of humor. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs had indeed been humiliated; losing was one thing, but not showing any grace was another.
"Cough cough, it's definitely awkward; it seems like there's friction among the lower ranks."
"Tsk tsk, talking about such embarrassing matters. Pfft, I know that's not his opinion. A bunch of long-timers really think this world revolves around them."
They say cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents; to William White, that phrase had never rung truer. Unfortunately, the U.S. had never heard that saying; had they known it, many wars could have been averted.
Mutual benefit leads to a harmonious society. Day in and day out clawing at each other, it was like they all had something wrong with their heads.
"Charlie, are you saying that movie we just watched was rendered by a computer?" Buffett pointed at the computer in front of him, asking his friend.
"Warren, it's not that simple. I heard a 3D acceleration card can actually run on two computers. But that said, this innovation is still pretty amazing."
Buffett shrugged; he wasn't overly concerned. While he believed one should learn as long as they lived, he wouldn't invest in unfamiliar territory.
"Charlie, are we getting old? From the investment perspective, William White's investments in Netscape and Pixar were nothing short of magical. Oh, and by the way, did he sell any of his Netscape stock?"
"No, he hasn't, but he hasn't leveraged either. I think they'll diminish their stake a bit."
Everyone was putting money towards investment; it was impossible to say Buffett wasn't at least a little envious of William White. He was generally well-mannered, while his partner's eyes were practically popping out. If not for a certain incident, their firm could've been legendary.
Now, they held a decent reputation but were unfortunately infamous. It was frustrating to think about; they did the difficult work but ended up as bystanders when it was harvesting time. Investing was impressive, but with a bad reputation, many were unwilling to collaborate with them.
*****
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